Getty Austin Cindric (left) and Harrison Burton (right) will battle for Rookie of the Year.
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season will feature one of the most intriguing battles between full-time rookies in recent memory. Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Justin Haley will all move up from the Xfinity Series while Todd Gilliland will make the leap from the Truck Series. All will face wildly different situations, but which will have the most pressure early in the season?
Cindric and Burton stand out as the obvious choices. Cindric is replacing a champion in Brad Keselowski at an organization with 130 career wins and multiple championships. The No. 2 reached Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 despite all of the Ford teams openly speaking about their struggles, showing that the equipment was still capable of winning.
The expectation will likely be that Cindric — a former Xfinity Series champion — will take over the Next Gen No. 2 and lock up at least one win early in his career after he posted one top-10 finish in his first seven Cup Series starts. There is no guarantee that Cindric will achieve this goal, but there will be added pressure as he continues driving for a powerhouse organization.
Burton will also face increased pressure due to two main reasons. The first is his name. He is the son of Jeff Burton, a man who won 21 Cup Series races. Burton will enter his rookie season with four career Xfinity Series wins, but there will be questions about whether he can match or surpass his father’s total at the top level of stock car racing.
Had a blast wheeling this next-gen @FordPerformance #Mustang this week couldn’t be more excited and proud to represent the historic @woodbrothers21
The other reason that Burton will face considerable pressure is the organization that he joined. He drives for Wood Brothers Racing, one of the most storied teams in NASCAR history. Several drivers have suited up for WBR and taken the No. 21 to Victory Lane, a list that includes Speedy Thompson, Glen Wood, Marvin Panch, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, and Ryan Blaney among others.
The storied organization has sat at 99 wins since the 2017 season, but WBR has been unable to crack the century mark with Paul Menard and Matt DiBenedetto as full-time drivers. Now Burton will take over the No. 21 and immediately face questions about whether he can be the one to register the 100th win.
Haley’s Rookie Status Will Create Questions
He’s still writing his story, but the first chapter is in the books.
The next chapter begins in 2022 in the @NASCAR Cup Series for @Justin_Haley_.
Haley sits in an interesting situation. He will technically be a full-time rookie in the Cup Series, but he has 36 career starts and one win — Daytona International Speedway in 2019. Haley also ran 31 Cup Series races in 2021 while preparing for his first full-time season. There is no guarantee that NASCAR will grant Haley eligibility for the Rookie of the Year award. He will have to apply alongside Gilliland, Burton, and Cindric.
If he falls into the rookie category, Haley will likely face less pressure than two of his peers. He has the experience of competing against top drivers while contending for top-10 finishes, and he has already reached Victory Lane in the Cup Series. He has marked off some of the goals that rookies struggle with early in their careers, so he can focus on stringing together strong runs.
Additionally, Haley will drive for Kaulig Racing, a team that will compete on a full-time basis for the first time. Kaulig Racing has reached Victory Lane once on a part-time basis — Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course in 2021 — but it is still too early to tell if the organization will contend for wins on a weekly basis. Two of the other rookies, for comparison, will head to teams with histories of success.
Gilliland Will Likely Have the Least Pressure
Going Cup racing in 2022 with @Team_FRM and @FordPerformance . What a special day. Couldn’t be more excited for next year!!! @FastLaneMediaNC
All of these high-profile rookies will have some level of pressure on them as they take on the 36-race schedule, but Gilliland will possibly have the least. The reason is that he takes over a stock car that did not contend for wins in 2021.
Anthony Alfredo, who will now race for Our Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, spent his rookie year in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang. He posted an average finish of 27.5 and had nine DNFs. His best run was a 10th-place finish in the rain-shortened YellaWood 500.
Gilliland, who boasts two wins in the Camping World Truck Series, will now make his first-ever Cup Series starts in a brand-new stock car. He will enter a new series with no experience and will take over a car that only posted one top-10 finish. Gilliland will face lower expectations than Cindric, Burton, and Haley, which should only benefit him as he makes his Cup Series debut.
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Which Cup Series Rookie Faces the Most Pressure?